Comments on Mommy's Martini -- think. write. laugh. love.: On Homework

Fight the power. Refuse to have your child do more...

2012-01-16T18:51:16.172-05:00

Fight the power. Refuse to have your child do more than 10 min a night (or what ever you feel is appropriate). Tell the principal and teacher why you are doing this. Talk to the other parents. Get them to join the discussion.

The kill and drill is to ready them for standardized tests, nothing more (and it probably doesn't even work).

Read The Homework Myth.

It is your child's school and you have a say in her education.

Or you can just skip all that and switch them to a charter Montessori school (or something similar) like we did. They don't do homework till the 6th grade and they score consistently higher than all the public schools in our state because they actually teach the kids to critically and creatively think (and play! almost all learning is done through play).

You aren't the only one feeling this way. Although they are probably afraid to say it most people likely feels exactly as you do, including most of the teachers and possibly the principal.

~ a 10th grade high school teacher who rarely gives homework for all these same reasons and whose students score better than students who are piled with homework every night.

PS. I'm enjoying your blog. :)

It does get worse. My resolution to the problem wa...

2011-10-21T10:04:06.729-04:00

It does get worse. My resolution to the problem was to pull my kids from public school and they are now homeschooled. And we DO have days where we paint for a few hours or read in tents without worrying about bedtimes or homework.

For schooled kids, though, it's tricky. I have heard that some parents have had luck with putting their foot down and talking to the school. Explain to them that your daughter is FIVE and that, as her parent, you feel it is only necessary for her to do "school work" for the school day and possibly a 10-15 minute review when she gets home. If they feel the need to send extra work home, so be it. But if she is doing well academically in class, and not falling behind the All-Mighty-Standards, then there shouldn't be any issue with her not completing every single math sheet and reading chart and other bologna that the schools feel is needed. You are her parent. You have the final word of what goes on in your child's life and her home should be your ULTIMATE control; NOT THE SCHOOL'S!

Throughout my kids' school years, I had issues...

2011-10-16T11:15:08.594-04:00

Throughout my kids' school years, I had issues with homework. The amount your kindergartener has is stunning. When my daughter was in high school, it was normal for her to have 3-4 hours each night. Add in extra-curricular activities and she was swamped. At some point the excess amount of out-of-classroom work becomes counterproductive.

I have no tips for you. I find 45 minutes of home...

2011-10-16T01:39:09.413-04:00

I have no tips for you. I find 45 minutes of homework for a kindergartner to be shocking. Really.

Jade gets only one thing for homework most days -- a different book, which *she* gets to pick out, and, once read, must be logged in the reading journal. Even this I sometimes find onerous, and you know we love to read.

But she's sooo exhausted when she gets home from school, and the kids inevitably fight because of short tempers and post-school hunger. And then there's dinner to cook and bedtimes have been made earlier to compensate for the extra energy expended... even without homework, and NO extra-curricular activities, it feels like there's not a lot of extra time on school days.

I adore the way you think things through and your ...

2011-10-16T00:21:59.970-04:00

I adore the way you think things through and your calm insights. I have no answers, as I am just navigating Kindergarten myself, but I will be checking back for tips from others!